I’ve been thinking about this a lot after reading posts and talking to people who use AI for mental health stuff. Traditional therapy is built around this weekly/monthly deep dive model. You show up to your appointment, unpack heavy stuff for an hour, process it, then leave and try to hold it together until next appointment. That’s the standard structure and it works for a lot of people. What’s interesting is some people don’t actually necessarily need weekly deep dives as much as they need daily check-ins and small course corrections. It’s like the difference between going to the doctor once a year for a physical versus brushing your teeth every day. Both matter, but one is preventative maintenance and the other is intervention. AI therapy tools are accidentally filling this gap that traditional therapy was never designed to address. People are using them for daily emotional hygiene - processing small frustrations before they become big problems, catching thought patterns early, staying grounded, maintaining perspective or just having that outlet to talk to. Traditional therapy isn’t set up for this. You can’t call your therapist every day to talk through a minor work conflict or a moment of anxiety. That’s not what the relationship is designed for. And honestly it would be expensive and impractical even if it was allowed. With AI that becomes doable. People are doing quick 5-10 minute check-ins to process their day, reframe situations, or just maintain emotional stability. It’s not dramatic breakthrough work, it’s maintenance. And maintenance actually prevents a lot of the bigger breakdowns that require intensive intervention. The mental health system has always been reactive - you wait until things are bad enough to need help, then you get help. But what if people had tools for daily emotional maintenance that kept things from getting that bad in the first place? Not saying AI replaces therapy. But yeah brushing your teeth daily does help and processing your emotions with intelligent support when you need it there and then also helps. submitted by /u/Glittering_Force_431
Originally posted by u/Glittering_Force_431 on r/ArtificialInteligence